Disciple of the Dark God
by Splattifying Agent 2
Summary: Nearly finished with the Kindling, Ophilia meets her sister in Goldshore. But a twisted turn of events leads to her taking on something much worse than she could've imagined. Spoilers for Ophilia's chapter 4.
1. Chapter 1

**[A/N] Aaaaand we're back. With something just as dark as the last one, I imagine. Also, probably a bit shorter. I was hoping for these chapters to be longer than they are, but I'm not having much luck right now. Maybe the next one will be better.**

**Ophilia's final boss is another that I've had a few ideas bouncing around for. The setting is also a personal favourite of mine, and I'd rather like to see what can be done with it.**

The group made their way out of the cathedral, Ophilia leading them.

"So where do you have to go next, Phili?" Alfyn asked.

"Back to Flamesgrace," Ophilia told him. "Then the Kindling will be complete." She smiled warmly at the group. "But my journey won't, of course. I intend to travel with you all for a while longer. After visiting Lianna and His Excellency, of course."

The sun was high in the sky above Goldshore, bathing the group in its rays. Having lived in the Frostlands for so long, the warmth around her was still a feeling to get used to. But Ophilia enjoyed it nonetheless.

"Is that it?" Therion asked seriously.

"Well, yes."

"Those two guys from before didn't worry you?"

She was silent for a moment. "They did, yes. But-"

"No buts there, Sister," Therion interrupted. "You're a target now. Now that those guys got taken out, someone else is gonna come after you. I'd bet a thousand leaves on it."

"Oi!" Alfyn said. "You're scarin' the lady!"

"All I'm saying is she's gotta be on her guard," Therion snapped. "She's no use to her faith with a knife in her-"

"Enough!" Olberic barked.

The thief scowled. "I'm just telling it like it is," he muttered.

Ophilia was saved from having to come up with a response to all that by a very familiar voice calling her name. She looked around to see who it was, and was greeted by a very welcome sight. "Lianna!"

The cleric's sister was just ahead of them, and Ophilia ran forward to embrace her. "Oh my goodness! How are you? What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you," Lianna said. She smiled. Anyone could see that it was forced, but Ophilia was so overjoyed at the prospect of seeing her sister again so soon that she didn't notice. "Something's come up at home, and... I wanted to talk to you in person." She shot a pointed look at the rest of the group. "Alone."

Therion barely stopped himself from saying something that would worsen his situation - something like "_so the old man kicked the bucket, huh?_" Still, he thought something about the visit was fishy.

"That's fine," Ophilia told her. She turned to the rest of the group. "You don't mind, right?"

No, they did not. The rest of the group decided to stop at the tavern for a spell while Ophilia and Lianna talked.

Lianna led Ophilia to a room in the inn. "I... I made some tea, Phili," she told her.

Indeed she had, and poured two cups. Ophilia sipped from hers politely. It tasted... exotic.

"So, what happened?" the cleric asked.

Lianna's lip started trembling so violently that Ophilia almost regretted asking. She knew the words that would escape her lips even before she spoke them.

"...F-Father's dead."

Ophilia had been preparing herself for this event. After she'd seen him last, he seemed to be in such bad shape that she privately thought to herself that it was simply a matter of time - she hoped this would be wrong, of course, but sometimes it paid to think realistically. And though hearing the news sent her head spinning a bit, she managed to hold herself together.

"I see," she murmured, taking another sip of tea to occupy herself.

"I-it happened a few d-days ago," Lianna said, tears flowing freely now. "And I... I-I knew I had to come and t-tell you..."

Ophilia got up and moved to her sister's side.

Or, at least, she tried to. She took a step and fell to her knees, suddenly feeling very tired. She saw Lianna looking at her mournfully.

"Li... Lianna..." the cleric whispered. "What's..."

She saw her sister get up and stand above her as her eyes closed.

{asterisks}

Therion took a big swig from his mug as Alfyn chastised him.

"You gotta learn some tact, man," he said. "Ophilia turned white as a sheet when you said that stuff."

"Could've been worse," Therion mumbled around his mug. He kept glancing out the window, a habit he'd developed when he was young. It was definitely a coincidence that the window was facing the inn, and he certainly wasn't doing it because he was worried about Ophilia.

"It can always be worse," the apothecary said. "Doesn't mean you can just shoot your mouth off like that."

The thief rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'll think about it." He took another sip from the mug and buried his face in his scarf.

There was silence for a second before Therion noticed that Tressa had a smug grin on her face. He debated with himself for a moment, but curiosity won out. "What?"

"I know why you're acting like that," the merchant said in a sing-song voice.

Therion rolled his eyes. He knew what was coming, and didn't bother trying to refute her. It wouldn't work on Tressa anyway, the brat.

"Therion's got a cruuuuuuush!"

Alfyn grinned at that one. Therion glanced at the other four travelers, who were significantly more mature than the two that were teasing him, but they were just watching with amused looks. No help from those yahoos.

Tressa and Alfyn had started singing a tired old rhyme about Therion and Ophilia sitting in a tree when the thief caught something out of the corner of his eye. Immediately, he stood up.

"Who the hell is that?" he asked, pointing out the window.

The two that were teasing him glanced at where he was pointing. Alfyn squinted. "It's a guy. Looks weird."

Indeed, there was a guy who looked weird. He was entering the inn - a normal sight in itself. But that wasn't what made Therion notice him.

"He's dressed the same as those jokers from yesterday," the thief said. Before anyone could respond to him, he was out the door.

He heard some voices behind him, and then some footsteps. They were following him, but he'd be the first one there, clearly.

It didn't take very long to get there, but just before he did, the door opened and the man came back out. He was dragging Ophilia's sister by one hand. In the girl's other hand, she was clutching a familiar-looking lantern.

They took one look at Therion and high-tailed it in the other direction.

Therion gritted his teeth, and skidded to a halt, looking toward the inn.

Ophilia wasn't coming out.

He was faced with a tough decision now. Go see what happened to her, or chase the culprits? They were escaping quickly, but Ophilia might be hurt - or worse.

He was saved from coming up with a solution by the other six arriving behind him. Olberic barked out orders, which the thief barely registered.

Alfyn entered the inn. That was good enough for him. He sprinted toward the thieves, and Olberic and H'aanit were hot on his heels.

An arrow flew past him, aimed toward the man, but he ducked and kept running. The thieves were a fair bit faster than the travelers chasing them.

Therion grabbed a dagger from his belt and chucked it in desperation - but it went wide, as expected. He'd never been skilled with throwing knives.

They chased the culprits past the town limits, and he watched as they turned off the path. He poured on the speed, but they left his sight for just a moment as they turned a corner.

When he caught up, they were gone. No trace had been left behind. Even their footsteps had simply stopped. Therion swore under his breath as H'aanit and Olberic caught up to him. "They're gone," he grunted.

The older man was panting. "Gone?"

H'aanit's nostrils flared. "They escaped?!"

"Disappeared into thin air."

H'aanit spat something under her breath. Therion didn't recognize the language, but it wasn't hard to tell that she was swearing.

"We're no use standing here," Therion said. "Let's go back to the inn and see what's happening."

His stomach definitely wasn't doing backflips as he thought about what could've happened to Ophilia.

{asterisks}

Ophilia's eyes flickered open slowly.

_I was asleep?_ she thought, thinking back.

Well, let's see. She completed the second leg of the Kindling after that scare with those two men in the caves. She met Lianna soon afterward. They went to the inn, had some tea, she learned that His Excellency was dead-

She immediately sat up, remembering what came next. As she did, a hand landed on her chest, which quickly moved to her shoulder and eased her back down on the bed.

"Whoa there, Sister," a voice said.

She yelped, and jolted a little as she looked at who was there.

"T-Therion?" she asked, breathing quickly. "What...?"

He held his hands up defensively. "Calm down. You aren't dead."

She nodded a few times, propping herself up against the bed's backboard. Her breathing eventually slowed down. "Okay..."

Therion sat back then. "What do you remember?"

Ophilia frowned. "After Lianna talked to me, I... I drank some tea, and fell asleep... and now I'm awake..."

The thief's expression was unreadable. "And that's it?"

She nodded. "Did something happen?"

Clearly unwilling to break the news, he pulled away the blanket that still covered her body.

She looked down at herself, not really seeing much different. She still had her robe on. Nothing was really out of ordinary. The only thing that was missing was...

She panicked immediately, feeling the space around herself. "W-where's Aelfric's Lanthorn?! I must... I must find it...!"

"Ophilia!" Therion barked.

She jolted, and looked at him.

"It's not here," he said bluntly. "Your sister took it."

Those last few words didn't quite register. She shook her head. "Excuse me... I-I must have misheard you, Therion. What did you say?"

He spoke slowly. "Your sister took the Lanthorn."

She shook her head again. "N-no, I... that can't be right." Her tone changed to one of faint hope. "Perhaps... perhaps she's decided to finish the Kindling for me."

Therion sighed, and rubbed his face with his hands. "Ophilia, be realistic. I'm begging you here. She was with a big guy in a black cloak and she took it."

Ophilia's lip trembled a little. "Truly...?"

"Yes."

She sniffed a bit and dried her eyes. "We must... we must get it back. Did anyone follow her...?"

"Didn't need to," Therion said, speaking a little bit more gently now. Not much, though. "The bishop or whatever said he heard of a town that worshipped a Saviour, like those idiots from yesterday were going on about."

"And what town is that?"

"Wispermill, in the Flatlands," he confirmed. "We're heading out as soon as we can."

A little smile spread across Ophilia's face. "Thank you, Therion..."

He pulled back a little and looked away. "Don't thank me. Wasn't my idea."

She hugged him anyway. "You're still helping."

He mechanically raised one arm and used it to return the hug. "Why're you so damn affectionate..." he muttered, more to himself than to her.

She didn't answer. "Let's leave, then," she said when she pulled away.

"Hell no," Therion said immediately, shaking his head. "Alfyn doesn't want you up and about for another day at least. He wants to make sure that whatever you got drugged with didn't do anything permanent. H'aanit and Cyrus went on ahead to make sure they didn't do anything weird with the Ember. We have time."

Ophilia bit her lip. "Well... alright." She was silent for a second. "Why were you watching me?"

He buried his face in his poncho. "Everyone else roped me into guard duty because of the crap I said to you before. So I'm your acting butler until you're ready to get up."

Ophilia got an impish grin on her face. "So you have to do whatever I want?"

He narrowed his eyes, but said nothing.

She giggled. "Can you bring me some food?"

Looking positively _thrilled_ at the order, Therion dutifully left the room, leaving Ophilia alone.

It took a few seconds, until Therion was out of earshot, but the tears flowed freely from Ophilia's eyes now.

She could barely believe what Therion had told her. Lianna, the one who stole the Lanthorn? Impossible...

It was true that strange things had been going on since she started the Kindling, but this was too much. Lianna wouldn't have taken the Lanthorn, she knew exactly how important it was.

Something must have happened to her, she decided. Or maybe it was someone who looked like her.

The cleric shook her head sadly. Therion's words had stung her, but he was right. She had to be realistic. If Lianna took the Lanthorn to Wispermill... well, she would just have to march right there and get it back.

But if the time came, Ophilia wasn't sure she'd be able to...

_No, don't think about that_, she thought forcefully, pushing it far out of her mind. This would end peacefully, she was sure of it. No one would have to die.

The door opened again. Ophilia hurriedly dried her eyes and tried to smile at Therion.

He raised an eyebrow. "Your eyes are all red," he noted.

She dropped the smile. "M-my apologies."

He set down the tray he was holding on her lap. "Don't. I get it."

Her lip trembled. "You do...?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I, uh... I had to deal with the same thing, a long time ago."

She watched him curiously.

Therion sighed. "Do I have to tell you?"

The cleric looked away. "Not if you don't want to." She paused. "But I _would_ like a way to pass the time, since I'm bedridden for the day."

He stared at her incredulously. "You're spending too much time with Tressa."

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, Therion."

He was silent for a moment before waving away the thought. "Nah, you'll find out sooner or later." He sat back in his chair. "I met a guy called Darius when I was younger. I got caught stealing some stuff, they tossed me in a gaol in Saintsbridge, and he was my cellmate. He was..." The thief thought for a second. "Uh, four years older than me. We were stuck in there for a while, and became friends, I guess."

Ophilia munched on the food he brought her, listening intently.

"We got sick of being locked up, so one day, I stole the key from the guy guarding us, and we beat the crap out of him and ran away. That was the start of it." His expression grew a little bit wistful. "We lived on the streets, going from town to town for a while. We stole to survive, and didn't give a damn who we took from. Darius and I made a good team."

"How old were you?" the cleric asked.

"Twelve when I met him," Therion said. "Seventeen when everything went to hell."

"What happened?"

"It started off normal - we stole some crap like usual. We didn't find out what happened until later. Turns out the guy whose house we broke into was a part of this crime family called the Ciannos, and it pissed them off. We skipped town to try and get away from them, but they've got influence all across Orsterra, so it didn't work. They tried to kill us for a while, but we kept escaping, somehow." Therion took a shaky breath, clearly not wanting to think about what happened next.

"Therion, if it's too much, you don't-"

"It's _fine_," he snapped. Ophilia stopped talking.

"Eventually, they gave up on that, and they approached Darius instead. I don't know what they offered him, but he took it." Therion's voice turned bitter. "He lured me to the Cliftlands, and... he shoved me off a cliff."

Ophilia gasped, horrified.

"I don't have a damn clue how I survived," he said flatly. "But I did. Recovered for a while. Got back to thieving. I haven't seen Darius since."

The two of them were silent for a moment. "I-I don't know what to say..." Ophilia said eventually.

"You don't have to," Therion replied. "It's in the past. You wanted to know and I told you, simple as that."

Ophilia shook her head. "N-no, that's... Therion, that's terrible! I can't... I can't believe you've been through something like that..."

He held up one hand. "Save it. I told you, it's in the past. Nothing to worry about now. Besides, we have your situation to deal with."

Ophilia chewed her lip a bit, but nodded. "Alright. If you're sure... but if ever you need someone to lend an ear, Therion, I'm willing to listen."

He snorted.

"I'm serious."

After a second or two, he responded with "I know. Thanks."

Ophilia smiled.

{asterisks}

The next day, the group of six left Goldshore behind. Alfyn had decided that Ophilia was fine to get out and about again, and so she did. She walked at the front of the group as they made their way north, toward Wispermill - and Lianna.

They had a long walk ahead of them, for sure. Wispermill was a small village in the furthest reaches of the Flatlands, and despite the region being the closest to the Coastlands, there was still a large patch of ocean in between there and Goldshore. As such, the only road they could take was a very long and meandering one that would pass them through several other towns before reaching their goal. The group had prepared the best they could, but the walk was still expected to take four days at the least.

No one complained. This was an important mission, after all. Whoever would steal Aelfric's Lanthorn from the Flamebearer herself certainly wouldn't have good plans for it.

They passed through Stonegard first, which was a full day's walk in itself, and stopped there for the night. The next few days took them through Rippletide and Atlasdam before the group finally made it to the final stretch on this journey. It was nearing the end of the fourth day when the town of Wispermill finally came into sight - but a short vote ended with them making camp outside. Everyone wanted to make sure they were in the best shape they could possibly be in, lest a fight break out.

Ophilia couldn't get a good sleep to save her life that night. She'd had restless nights before, but nothing like this. The cleric tossed and turned for a long time, but no matter how comfortable she got, she still felt wide awake.

She sighed, clearly knowing the reason.

Maybe some fresh air would help. Slowly, quietly, she removed herself from her cot and left the tent.

She mentally berated herself for feeling the need to move so quietly. With Cyrus and H'aanit temporarily out of the party, Olberic and Ophilia, their usual bunkmates, had ended up sharing a tent with each other instead, and Ophilia quickly learned that, unlike H'aanit, Olberic was a very, _very_ heavy sleeper. Nothing short of an explosion would be likely to wake him. She needn't have bothered acting stealthy.

She left the tent, at first intending to take a short walk and think a bit, but something rather strange made her stop.

The buildings of the town of Wispermill were illuminated with a faint purple glow. Wisps of smoke, the same shade, curled off of the tile roofs, and every so often, there would be a brighter flash that momentarily lit up the area.

Curious and suspicious, Ophilia felt herself being drawn to the light.

She realized later that she should've woken someone else before going forward, but her curiosity had won out. Besides, she had no intentions of doing anything except observe... whatever this was.

Moving as quickly and quietly as possible, Ophilia made her way toward the town limits. The light, no doubt supernatural in nature, got brighter toward the center of the town. That must've been its source. Ducking behind a nearby house, she peaked at what was happening.

The town center held a flickering flame of deep purple, with spots of black appearing and disappearing from time to time. It reminded Ophilia of the Sacred Flame housed in the cathedrals she'd visited throughout the Kindling, but far more sinister.

Surrounding the point of flame was a circle of perhaps twenty people. One person, cloaked in black, stood with hands spread wide, speaking words in a rolling tongue that Ophilia did not recognize. The language sounded ancient.

The other people in the circle were all looking toward the flame with heads bowed and hands at shoulder height. They spoke too, but Ophilia could understand them.

"Glory to the Saviour... who will deliver us from this life... and join us in the bonds of our Lord Galdera..."

The words were spoken in the same reverent tone that she herself used when praying. Ophilia gasped.

Why would the people of this town be worshiping Galdera?

She kept an eye on everyone in the circle, but nothing else seemed to be happening. The figure in black, who seemed to be the leader - perhaps they were the Saviour she kept hearing about - twitched occasionally. Once, Ophilia thought they looked her way, and she ducked back behind the building, but nothing happened.

She decided that she'd seen enough. Ophilia thought herself to be quite tolerant of people from all walks of life, but the worship of the Dark God Galdera was too much for her. At the very least, it warranted further investigation. She couldn't see Aelfric's Lanthorn, anyway, and she wasn't about to start breaking into houses to look for it. She turned around to go back to the tents.

Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain on the back of her head, and Ophilia Clement was rendered unconscious for the second time in a week.


	2. Chapter 2

**[A/N] I feel like this entire story moved a bit too fast. Here I am wanting nice long chapters and then I have to go and make the first one 3.6K words. I need 5K at least, dammit!**

**I'd prefer them to be around that long, but I guess it isn't that big a deal. Besides, I made up for it with this one. Regardless, here's what you've all been waiting for.**

**As a side note, I remember **_**even less**_** about Ophilia's story than I do about Olberic's. I went back and checked the game for one line near the end and that's it. The rest is off of my thoroughly awful memory. Soooo... be forewarned of differences.**

Ophilia woke up with a splitting headache. Her vision was blurry and her surroundings unfamiliar. She groaned quietly.

She squinted and blinked several times until her surroundings started to look clearer. It took a few minutes.

The room she sat in was unfamiliar, but she recognized it for what it was - a dimly-lit cell. There were sturdy-looking bars separating her from the outside, but the room itself was unremarkable. There was absolutely nothing of note inside her prison, not even a bench.

That didn't stop her from looking around and trying to find a solution, but there was nothing available to her. All Ophilia had was the clothes on her back.

Her head throbbed with pain. She gingerly felt the back of her head with one hand, and felt something unusual.

Her fingers came away coloured slightly scarlet. It must've been dried blood.

She looked down at her robe next, and saw it was quite dirty. In several places, there were dirt stains, and a bit more blood. She bit her lip in thought and felt a cut there.

Ophilia sighed. She must've looked like a mess. _What an odd thing to think about now_, she thought.

But as much as she hated to admit it, there didn't seem to be a solution. There were no windows in the little cell, the walls were too sturdy to break through, and the bars, although spaced, only had enough room between them for her wrist to fit. Any more and she might get stuck.

She sighed again, feeling resigned. Her only hope now would be for someone to come help... but luckily, of course, her friends were nearby. Certainly, they'd be able to help. She had plenty of faith in that.

So for now, she waited. Since the cell was only lit by a single lantern, and there weren't any other openings in the room, Ophilia had no way of knowing what time of day it was. If it was still nighttime, her friends wouldn't even know she was gone until the morning.

If that was the case, she was in for a very long wait. She perused the cell one more time, with her eyes and her fingers, making sure she hadn't overlooked anything. Unfortunately, it appeared that she hadn't, and so Ophilia settled in as best she could and waited.

With her hands, she cleaned herself up as best as she possibly could, since there was so little else to do. The dried blood was caked to her robe, so there wasn't much she could do about that, but the dirt and grime was possible to rub away, even if it would take a long time. She tried to fix her hair a bit as well, ignoring the pain in her head and trying to think of what Primrose would tell her if she were there.

She got caught up in that thinking for a while, and imagined the kinds of encouraging words her fellow travelers and friends would give her.

"Sit tight, Ophilia, we'll be around in a jiffy!"

Without thinking, the words came out of her mouth instead of just appearing in her head, and the cleric giggled, despite herself. That wasn't a half-bad impression of Tressa, she thought. At least it could bring a smile to her face as she waited.

It must've still been nighttime like she thought, because it was several hours before she saw anyone else. The door to the building opened, and morning sunlight streamed into the building.

The figure standing in the doorway was a rather familiar face.

"Lianna!"

She looked different. Her facial expression was one of melancholy, for one thing - but the first thing Ophilia noticed was her robe. She'd traded her pure white cleric's robe for a black one, with red accents.

In fact, it wasn't unlike the one that the mysterious figure from last night had worn.

Lianna forced a smile. "Hello, Phili."

"What's happened?" Ophilia asked urgently. The words continued to tumble out of her mouth. "Why am I in here? What's going on in this town? Why do they worship Galdera? Why-"

Lianna held up her hands defensively. Her voice was small. "Please, Phili, stop for a second. I don't have long. I just wanted to see you."

She sounded alarmingly casual. Ophilia didn't want to be suspicious of her own sister, but she didn't like the situation. Still, though, she bit back the accusatory words that threatened to form on her tongue and replaced them with "what for?"

"I wanted some time to talk to you before the ritual," Lianna said.

"Ritual?"

Lianna's smile grew more genuine. "The ritual that will resurrect Father."

Ophilia's eyes widened. "R-Resurrect His Excellency...?"

She looked much more excited now. "It'll be soon, Ophilia! Soon he'll be back, and we can all go home, and... and everything will be back to normal!"

Ophilia bit her lip. "Lianna, you can't-"

She wasn't listening. The thought of her father returning to her had Lianna too excited to pay attention. "Just thinking about it makes me so... so happy," Lianna said.

She was silent for a moment longer before she looked back at Ophilia. "Oh, but I... I'm so sorry, Phili, I should let you out... you should be able to come and see it..."

She moved forward, withdrawing a key from her robe. Ophilia dutifully stepped back. Maybe she could do something once she was let out.

"Come now, there won't be any of that."

Lianna twitched and withdrew her hand, looking behind her.

It was a smooth male voice, almost smug, and it sounded rather familiar. It hadn't been long since she'd last heard that voice, belonging to a self-proclaimed trader of the Leoniel Consortium.

Nevertheless, it still surprised her when Mattias stepped into view. He wore his usual outfit this time, a long blue coat trimmed with white fur over a modest-looking shirt, vest, and pants. A familiar black cloak was draped over one arm.

"Sister Ophilia," he said, wearing a smug grin. "I deeply apologize for the situation you find yourself in, but it was a necessary precaution. You have quite a bit of skill when it comes to interfering with me."

She was speechless. Mattias kept talking.

"Come now, Lianna," he said quietly. "We're to begin soon."

"But... but Phili should watch," Lianna argued. It didn't sound like her heart was in it.

He put an arm around her shoulders. "Listen to me," he whispered. "She will have plenty of time to spend with your father once he's returned. But for now, we must keep her here. It's for her own protection, Lianna. Your sister is not in her right mind."

Lianna's face turned fearful, and Ophilia knew he'd swayed her. "Will she be alright...?"

"Once your father is returned, all will be well," he assured. "Your life will return to what it was."

She nodded, cast one last look at Ophilia, and started to walk out.

Ophilia was desperate now. "Lianna, please, _listen to me!_" she urged. "Mattias is lying to you! I know you don't like it, but-"

Lianna looked horrified. "Ophilia... what's the problem? You'll see Father again... don't you want that?"

She left with Mattias. He shot a smug look back at her as the room was closed.

But Ophilia didn't have time to mourn her defeat, because less than five minutes later, the door opened again.

"Therion?!" Ophilia said, surprised.

He stepped forward, pulled a jagged metal object out of his pocket, and knelt to examine the lock. He glanced up at her as he did so. "You look like hell, Sister."

She was so overjoyed to see one of her friends that she didn't even acknowledge the comment. The lockpick slid in and out of the lock, and the door opened silently.

Ophilia immediately threw her arms around the thief when she was free. "I-I'm so happy to see you..."

He mechanically put one hand around her. "What happened?"

Ophilia pulled away. "We don't have time. Mattias and Lianna are... we need to stop them, or something terrible will happen!"

Therion raised an eyebrow. "Slow down for a sec. What the hell happened?"

"I'll tell you on the way!" she said urgently. "Please, Therion, we have to go! Where are the others?"

"They're lookin' for you."

She grabbed his wrist and pulled him outside. The other six travelers were visible now, and Ophilia called out to them. One by one, the group of eight gathered in front of her former prison.

"Man, is it ever good to see you, Phili!" Alfyn said. "We didn't know what to think when you weren't in your tent this morning."

Ophilia flashed him a smile, but it was short-lived. "We don't have much time, my friends. Mattias is planning something, and... we must put a stop to it. I'll explain on the way, but for now, we must go."

"Go where?" Therion asked.

She froze, eyes widening.

Tressa looked worried. "Phili? Where to?"

"I don't know," Ophilia whispered. She hadn't even thought of that until they said it, but neither Mattias nor Lianna had mentioned where the ritual would be performed.

What would she do now? Wispermill wasn't exactly big, but she still had no idea where to look. There were no doubts in her mind that Mattias planned to do something terrible with Aelfric's Lanthorn, and if she didn't get there in time to stop it...

Olberic put a hand on her shoulder. "It matters not. We will find the site of... whatever this Saviour is planning, and put a stop to it."

She'd almost forgotten that she hadn't told them the whole story yet, but that could wait. There was a ritual to find. "Thank you, my friends," she said. "Let's... let's begin."

She turned around and was about to try and find a starting point when there was a tap on her shoulder. Ophilia turned around to see Tressa holding out her staff with a smile on her face. She returned it as best she could, and gratefully took the staff.

The group spread out around the town, looking for anything suspicious that might lead them to Mattias. Ophilia was frantic, but desperately tried to keep herself calm.

Nothing could be done to stop Mattias if she didn't keep a cool head on her shoulders, she told herself. Pay attention. Find him.

She checked and re-checked houses, looking for clues. A reminder note, a map, any scrap of writing that she could find, but there was nothing. Absolutely no trace of a direction could be found.

This continued for several minutes. Ophilia felt tempted to give up at that point - she didn't have a clue of how to find the site of the ritual. She felt tears begin to sting the corners of her eyes.

Would this be how the Kindling ended? With the Flamebearer, in a bruised, battered, and utterly broken state, desperately searching for an artifact that she was stupid enough to have lost in the first place? Unable to stop a disciple of Galdera from using the Sacred Flame to further his designs?

Ophilia was ready to fall to her knees and give into her despair when she heard a curious crackling noise. Her head whipped around, prepared to fend off whatever creature may have caused it - but there was no movement around her. It stopped after a second.

Then it happened again.

It was rather quiet. Was it from somewhere further away? She could hear grass rustling now. Was the creature approaching?

Tressa ran past her, clearly excited. Ophilia looked in her direction and finally saw the source of the noise.

A bolt of lightning, coloured a brilliant blue, struck the ground in the distance. It was in the woods on the outskirts of town that it struck, and it looked very familiar.

Cyrus, she thought. He had found something.

As fast as she could, Ophilia picked herself up and sprinted toward the woods. She had to hope that it was what they were looking for.

The rest of the travelers converged on the spot soon enough. Cyrus was waiting in front of a cave entrance. "I believe this may be the place," he said.

Ophilia looked at the entrance. It didn't seem very interesting at first, but when she stepped forward to investigate a bit further, she felt something rather odd.

Emanating from the cave's entrance was a malevolent aura. Ophilia could feel it, almost as a physical presence. It made her recoil. A wave of nausea washed over her as she did.

No doubt about it. This was the place they were looking for. Dark things had occurred here, probably repeatedly. Ophilia wasn't an expert when it came to Galdera, but that seemed like a reasonable enough conclusion.

She waited for everyone to show up. When they did, Alfyn stepped up and looked at the entrance.

"This is it?" he asked, poking around. Almost immediately, he stepped back and clutched his stomach. "Oogh..."

"You okay?" Tressa asked worriedly.

Alfyn raised a hand. "Yeah... 'm fine." He straightened. "That was weird... I haven't eaten anything yet today."

"This is the place," Ophilia said decisively.

Therion raised an eyebrow. "You sound confident."

"You felt it, didn't you, Alfyn?" she asked. "There's something... evil."

He thought. "Yeah, I guess. I only felt it for a second, though."

"Does anyone else care to enter...?" Ophilia asked.

Cyrus was the next to step forward, and his face turned pale. "Oh my, I... Yes, I believe Ophilia is correct. Dark things are at work here. We all may be... affected, in some way."

Ophilia looked at her friends, and put on a defiant expression that she wasn't sure she felt. Her stomach was doing backflips. "Shall we, then?"

No one looked eager, but they stepped forward anyway. Ophilia heard Alfyn groan again.

All eight of them stood in a line at the mouth of the cave. Ophilia could feel another wave of nausea wash over her.

"Steel yourself, my friends," she heard Olberic say. "Let us face this together."

And with that, they walked forward.

Or they tried to, at least. The dark presence in the air thickened like mud, and the group began to find it quite difficult to take steps.

Ophilia's stomach turned and bile rose in her throat. She had to force it back down. She heard a faint whisper in her mind, as well. The cleric gritted her teeth and glanced behind her.

The sun was still on her back. She couldn't have taken more than three steps. She groaned under her breath, and redoubled her efforts. Her feet fell heavily.

As she took another step, the whisper in her mind grew in volume. She could make out her name, barely, but it was between something else that she couldn't understand.

A short look to her left told her that her friends were having just as much trouble as she was. "Courage, friends!" Olberic shouted. His skin had a pallid tone to it.

As she kept moving, the voice in Ophilia's head continued to grow louder and louder until it was at a shout. She covered her ears reflexively, but she knew it wouldn't help.

Bile rose in her throat again, and she wasn't sure she'd be able to keep it down this time. The shouting voice continued to get louder until it was overwhelming. Like before, she heard her name from time to time, but now it continued to be drowned out by the screaming. Ophilia could barely form a coherent thought.

Except she recognized it now. It was formless screams, screams that she'd heard once about fifteen years ago. They filled her mind. She feared for her sanity if this continued. She took another step forward, trying to steel herself for what might happen next-

And then all of a sudden, it stopped completely. Even the thickness in the air was gone. Surprised at the sudden lack of resistance, Ophilia fell on her face with a yelp.

Her breathing was heavy. She could still feel the evil presence in the air, but it wasn't nearly as overwhelming as it had been a moment ago. It made her skin crawl, and that was it.

Ophilia lifted her head, and saw her friends in front of her. Evidently, she was the last one to free herself from... whatever that was. All of them looked exhausted.

Therion was leaning against the wall. "What... the hell... was that...?" he asked. His voice sounded normal, aside from his heavy breathing, but his movements gave him away. The thief shuddered violently, clearly affected.

Cyrus looked a bit more composed already. "A spell, perhaps...?" he supplied. "It was like nothing I've ever experienced."

Ophilia murmured a word, and the group was bathed in a pale green light. It was all she could really do. No one looked that much better.

They were taking a moment to recover when Ophilia spoke. "Did the rest of you... hear anything?"

It was a moment before anyone replied. "Me," Olberic said, with some difficulty. "The day that Hornburg fell... the moment my friend killed King Alfred. He made a pained sort of noise as he died... not loud, but audible. I've never forgotten it." He was lost in thought for a moment before looking back up. "That's what I heard. Over and over."

Ophilia listened solemnly. "Did anyone else...?" She looked at Therion inquisitively.

The thief looked back at her for a moment before standing up straight. "Look, we came here for a reason, right? Aren't we on a time crunch or something? Let's go already."

Ophilia had a feeling she knew exactly what he might have heard, but he was right. Who knew how little time they had left?

The cleric pulled herself to her feet. "Yes... let's go. We need to stop Mattias..."

Her friends still looked a bit shaken (and she felt about the same), but they moved on nonetheless. Their steps echoed through the otherwise quiet cave. It was terribly dark, so Ophilia lit her staff to help show the way, but it barely helped.

Ophilia wanted to pass the time by talking a bit more about their... experience, just now, but at the same time, she was afraid of overstepping her boundaries. Who knew if someone else had an aspect of their life they weren't ready to share just yet? She was amazed that Therion had opened up to her as much as he did, and even though she had him pegged as the one whose past would be the toughest to learn about, there was every possibility that one of the other travelers had suffered as much as him, or even more. She knew the basics of each of their stories, but things might be even worse than she knew.

So as such, she pushed it out of her mind, and they kept going. It was several minutes before they found any more signs of life.

Well... perhaps signs of life wasn't the best way to put it. There were several bodies strewn about, bodies of the townspeople. They didn't look quite... well, alive. Alfyn knelt down and felt for their heartbeats. "They're not quite dead," he reported. "But none of them are in good shape. Gods, this is dark stuff."

"And what exactly are _you_ doing here?" a familiar voice asked suddenly.

Ophilia's eyes snapped forward. At the end of the cave was a dais, perfectly circular, with a stone table in the centre. Atop the table was Aelfric's Lanthorn, and on either side were Lianna and Mattias. The cleric swallowed.

"How did you escape?" Mattias asked, deadly calm.

"I had help," Ophilia replied. Therion waved, casual as ever, but there was a dagger gripped tightly in his hand.

Mattias' eyes flashed and his nostrils flared, but he clenched his fists and relaxed. "And you got past my spell at the entrance... impressive. If only I could extend it farther, you all would've been driven mad. But alas, I'm out of practice."

He shrugged. "But, no matter. We've just started, anyway. You're just in time to watch the show."

He turned to Aelfric's Lanthorn, and moved his hand in a circle. A purple ring appeared around it, and the Sacred Flame within turned the same shade. Mattias chuckled.

"What are you planning, Mattias?!" Ophilia demanded.

"Me? I'm simply starting a new reign from this town," he said. "Aelfric's flame will be no more... all across this continent, I'll replace it with the fire of Galdera, starting right here."

Ophilia started forward, but she didn't have to. An arrow whizzed past her head and broke the ring surrounding the Lanthorn. It returned to its usual warm blue.

The cleric turned and saw H'aanit with her bow still raised.

Mattias' eyes narrowed. "That was quite rude of you."

The huntress said nothing.

The Saviour snapped his fingers, and out of nowhere, an ornate trident appeared in his hands. "I suppose I'll have to take care of the rest of you first, then." He looked at Lianna. "You may want to step back. I wouldn't want to harm you."

She stayed silent, but took a few steps backward with a fearful expression. Ophilia looked at her, then back to Mattias as she readied her staff.

Everyone was ready. The fight was about to begin.

H'aanit shot another arrow, but Mattias held up one hand. The arrow stopped in its tracks just before it would've hit him, and he snapped it in two. The group watched in shock.

"Come now," the Saviour said smugly. "Surely you'd realize that service to Galdera has its own benefits?"

Olberic shouted a word, and the group split, circling around Mattias individually. H'aanit and Tressa loosed more arrows, and Cyrus murmured a word as giant icicles sprouted from the ground.

He effortlessly dodged the arrows, and stamped the ground with one foot. A violet shockwave rippled from where he stepped, and the ice shattered easily.

Therion silently jumped at him, dagger in hand, aiming for his neck to end this quickly, but Mattias snapped his fingers and the thief dropped like a stone. With Primrose dancing behind him, Olberic charged next, but Mattias blocked his strike with his scepter and hit the knight with a blast of dark energy. He was thrown back several steps.

Alfyn busied himself tending to the knight's wounds as Ophilia stood in front of Mattias, clutching her staff. She raised it without thinking, and muttered an incantation. A beam of holy light pierced through the cave's ceiling and passed through the fingers of Mattias' right hand.

To the surprise of everyone present, including Ophilia herself, the offending digits were cleaved off as though she had used a knife. Mattias grimaced, and looked at his hand. "What the..."

While he seemed to be distracted, she did it again, but he was ready this time. The light struck the space just to the left of him as he dodged.

"The same trick won't work twice, you silly girl!" Mattias snarled, and swung his scepter. A wave of dark energy was hurled towards Ophilia, and she was thrown back with a cry of pain.

The cleric forced herself to get back to her feet, and whispered a word as her staff healed some of her wounds. She looked at Mattias defiantly, and planted her staff in front of her.

"Then I'll just have to try something different!" she shouted, and a transparent dome of light formed around her.

And when Mattias tried attacking her again, she was ready to send it right back at him. The Saviour's eyes widened in shock and pain as the attack landed, and Ophilia took advantage of the distraction to hit him with her sacred light again.

This time, it lopped off the tip of his left shoe. He snarled.

"In that case, I'll just kill you up close!" he cried, and charged toward her. The trident was aimed directly at her throat.

Out of nowhere, Therion rammed into Mattias full force. It didn't do much, but it was enough to divert his course a little. The strike grazed Ophilia's shoulder instead of skewering her completely.

The Saviour snarled, his composure gone completely now, and a ball of energy appeared in his hand. He fired it at Therion, but Ophilia was ready with another reflective barrier, formed around his body this time. The attack was bounced back immediately.

Mattias was ready too. He dodged it, and it shot behind him. The sound of collapsing rocks could be heard.

Mattias gritted his teeth, then seemed to calm down for a moment. "Mmm... you aren't half bad at this," he said. "But let's see you handle this one."

He stomped one foot on the ground, and fire sprouted from where he stood. It formed a circle around the battlefield, and all nine combatants were trapped inside.

The flames were hot - unnaturally so. Ophilia could feel the heat sapping her energy away. It was getting terribly difficult to breath.

Mattias chuckled now. "You've been such a good sport, Ophilia Clement," he said, as though he were an old friend. "And unusually resilient, too... I might just have to use my fail-safe to kill you."

The air crackled with electricity, and the trident he was holding began to glow. Ophilia lifted her head.

"Please," Mattias said. "You can't do anything in this heat. Better to just relax and die now."

Ophilia shook her head defiantly. "Not... not while I have my faith."

The Saviour actually laughed at that one. "Your faith! The only thing your precious little faith has gotten you is hardship. When have your gods ever answered your prayers? I've seen it happen for a very long time, Ophilia, longer than you would expect. Your Flame grants you nothing but false hope. Galdera was the only god that ever answered my call!"

Ophilia shook her head again, and raised her staff. "No... my faith has brought me everything I could ever want, Mattias. My friends... family... the chance to go on this quest... and you... you will not... take that away...! In the name of Aelfric, bringer of the Flame, I will defeat you!"

His eyes narrowed. "We'll see about that."

But before he could loose his final attack, Ophilia made one of her own.

"Sa... Sacred light..." she groaned.

A little wisp of light pierced the rock and landed on Mattias. It didn't give him more than a surface cut, but the flames dulled a little. He must've needed quite a bit of concentration to keep that particular spell active.

She repeated the words, and another wisp of light appeared, a bit larger than the first. It opened a wider cut on his left hand.

The Saviour raised his trident, but Ophilia had the opening she needed. With another whisper, she planted her staff on the ground and created another dome of light in front of her.

Mattias let loose with loud, crackling thunder, and it hit the barrier. An ear-piercing sound was heard, not unlike that of breaking glass, and the barrier shattered. But it did its job, rebounding the first few hits right back at the attacker. Ophilia was forced to endure the last few, but even despite the agonizing pain across her body and the anguished scream she let out, she knew that she'd made the chance she needed.

Mattias howled in pain as his own dark lightning pierced through his defenses, and he was blown off his feet. As soon as she had regained her composure, Ophilia got up and stood over him.

There was no time now for flowery words. All Ophilia knew was that she was ending this once and for all. She raised her staff, and said the words.

"Sacred light."

A beam of light came from the heavens and pierced Mattias' skin. The dark disciple howled in pain.

"Sacred light!"

A second one joined the first. "Please, you mustn't!" Mattias begged. He struggled to get up.

"No!" Ophilia cried. "Sacred light! SACRED LIGHT! _SACRED LIGHT!"_

Heavenly light continued to appear and strike Mattias' writhing body. She kept repeating the words, even after Mattias stopped screaming, and even as her eyes stung and her vision blurred from the tears in them.

When she was finally finished, a blackened corpse was all that remained of the Saviour of Wispermill.

Curiously enough, for just a moment during her assault, a beam of regular sunlight came down from one of the holes in the ceiling and bathed Ophilia in its light. Perhaps it was a perfectly natural phenomenon, or perhaps it wasn't. No one could really tell for sure.

Ophilia fell to her knees, panting heavily, and stared at what was left of Mattias. Her staff clattered to the ground next to her.

She'd never done that before, she thought.

Oh, she'd killed before, to be sure. That was an inevitability on a trip like this. She'd killed beasts for food, and she'd killed people in self-defense, and there was no doubt in Ophilia's mind that she would do it again in the future. She didn't like it, but that was the way it was.

But to lose her composure like that and continue striking him... that was new. She shivered.

Slowly, she raised herself to her feet, and almost collapsed again. That last attack... no, those last _several_ attacks took a lot out of her, but she managed to raise herself up fully. She was leaning pretty hard on her staff, though.

She spared one last look at Mattias' corpse before turning back to the dais.

Everyone - the rest of her friends, and Lianna - was staring at her in awe. They must've been thinking the same thing, that losing control like that had been a first for her.

Without a word, she hobbled over to the table where the Lanthorn was sitting, and put it back on her waist where it belonged. A little smile spread across her face when she did. It was like an old friend to her by now.

After that, she made her way toward Lianna, who looked at her with wide, fearful eyes, like a child who had just been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

"I..." she said in a small voice. "I... I just wanted to see him again..."

Ophilia hugged her sister tightly. "I know," she whispered. "But the dead can't come back... His Excell- _Father_ taught us that a long time ago. Do you remember?"

Lianna smiled sadly and nodded. "Yeah... I do..." She sniffled a few times as tears began to roll down her cheeks. "Phili, I'm... I'm s-so sorry..."

Ophilia planted a gentle little kiss on her forehead. "It's okay, Lianna... I forgive you."

"But I... I... Phili, I h-helped him, and he almost-"

"It's fine, Lianna..." Ophilia whispered. "I still love you. You're still my sister..."

Lianna looked to be on the verge of bursting into tears, but she managed to hold herself together enough to give Ophilia a truly genuine smile.

"The hell's going on...?"

Ophilia looked back toward the source of the unfamiliar voice. One of the townspeople had sat up and was rubbing his head. The cleric grinned. It looked like everyone was waking up now.

Alfyn rushed over to them. "Hey there, folks," he said, nonchalant as ever. "It's a bit of a long story, but I'm here to help. Everyone doin' okay?"

Ophilia watched as Alfyn started taking note of everyone's conditions, then turned back to Lianna. "C'mon... let's go home, okay? I still have one more stop for the Kindling."

Lianna smiled again. "I'd like that a lot, Phili."

{asterisks}

"...grant us your mercy and your blessing," Ophilia recited, and held up the First Flame. The holy fire in front of her immediately grew to a much more impressive size, and she smiled. The Kindling was finally complete.

There was something of an audience that had gathered to watch the end of this event - it wouldn't happen again for a long time, so naturally, people wanted to catch a glimpse of it. Her friends were in the crowd, as was Lianna.

No one was sitting particularly close to her.

Ophilia gave a few closing words, and, as the crowd dispersed, made her way toward her friends first.

"Thank you all for joining me here," she told them.

"No sweat," Alfyn said. "We're with you all the way."

The rest of them offered similar words of encouragement. She turned to Therion. "And... I never got the chance to thank you for saving my life."

He shrugged. "'s what I'm here for."

She kissed him on the cheek. Immediately, the thief buried his face in his poncho to hide the growing blush on it. Tressa and Alfyn laughed.

"C'mon, don't you have someone else to talk to?" Therion mumbled. "Quit bothering me and go see your sister..."

She smiled, making a mental note to keep teasing him later, and made her way to where Lianna was sitting.

"I'm so proud of you, Phili," she said when Ophilia got close. "So... so proud."

Ophilia had to smile back. "Thank you... it feels so wonderful to know that the Kindling is finished."

"So... that means you're staying home now... right?" Lianna asked hopefully.

Ophilia bit her lip. She hadn't been looking forward to this conversation, but it had to be done. "Lianna, I... I would love to, but... I've made a promise to my friends that I would help them."

Lianna looked crestfallen. Ophilia quickly amended her statement. "It doesn't mean I'm never coming back," she said. "I don't know how long it'll be, but... none of us got as far as we did on our own. Even during the Kindling... if it weren't for them, I would've been dead several times over."

Her sister nodded sadly. "No... I get it, Phili. Really... you have an obligation." She gave her a little smile. "Do what you have to do... and I'll wait here. As long as it takes."

Ophilia smiled and hugged her. "So... I don't have to leave for a little while. ...Do you want to visit him?"

Lianna nodded a few times, and got up to lead Ophilia out of the cathedral.

There was a small cemetery to the back of it, mostly dedicated to those in service to the Flame. Archbishop Josef's gravestone was near the centre. Lianna led Ophilia toward it, and they both stood over the stone.

Ophilia had been quite good at keeping her composure for the past several days, given everything that had happened on this last leg of her journey, but seeing the stone with his name carved into it, finally proving to Ophilia the harsh reality of his death, was too much. She tried to keep it from coming, thinking that she had to be strong for her sister, but the tears flowed freely from her eyes. Next to her, Lianna was crying too.

Ophilia called up every memory she had of her foster father, trying to remember every minute detail of his face. It was the best she could do, really.

After a while, the crying slowed down a little, although her voice still shook. She took the time to say a few words.

"G... Good day, Your Ex- Father," she said. No need to be professional now. "I've f-finished the Kindling... but I'm not... not done yet. I'll be leaving again for another journey with my f-friends... but I'll be back. And I-I promise I'll visit whenever I can once I return..."

Lianna stepped back a bit, giving her the moment she needed. Ophilia stared down at the gravestone.

"I am... so happy that you w-were in my life..." she continued. "You a-and Lianna... have always been so important to me... and I w-wish I had another chance to say goodbye... but we'll both see you again, someday... and we're both gonna be strong until that day comes." She turned back toward her sister. "Right, Lianna?"

She nodded in response, eyes still shining.

"So this is goodbye for now," Ophilia said. "But... not forever."

With that, the cleric stood up and began to walk back toward the cathedral. Lianna stayed close to her as she did.

"That was beautiful," she murmured.

"I've had lots of time to think on it all," Ophilia replied. "I wanted to get everything out..."

The rest of the walk back was in silence. When they returned, Ophilia gave her sister a big hug. "Take care of yourself until I return, okay?"

Lianna returned it without hesitation. "Of course..."

The two said their goodbyes, and Ophilia walked back toward the town, where her friends were waiting.


End file.
